Princess Diana’s brother says Prince William and Prince Harry are already aware of the explosive claims he makes about their parents in his upcoming book.
Charles Spencer addressed his nephews during a September 18 interview with the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, days before the release of “Swan Song: Diana, My Sister.”
Although Spencer declined to reveal details about any private conversations with William and Harry, he made clear that the brothers were familiar with what he planned to say.
“I don’t like to talk about what I’ve been speaking about to William and Harry, but this will not be a surprise to them,” Spencer said.
“I will tell you that these words will not be a surprise to them,” he added.
His comments follow a Page Six report that Harry was aware of the allegations before they became public. A source told the outlet, “It didn’t come as a shock.”
According to the outlet, Harry and Spencer discussed the book when the Duke of Sussex visited Althorp, the Spencer family’s ancestral estate, in July. Harry traveled there with his wife, Meghan Markle, and their children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, to visit Diana’s burial site.
In his book, Spencer makes several allegations about King Charles III’s reaction following Diana’s death in 1997.
Spencer claims that Charles told him during a phone conversation that Diana would be forgotten.
“He unleashed down the phone what I have always taken to be his pent-up contempt for Diana, and his horror that the world was so bowled over by her death,” Spencer wrote in an excerpt obtained by the Daily Mail. “‘Rest assured,’ he hissed, ‘we’ll forget her soon enough!’”
Spencer said he was stunned by the alleged remark and ended the call.
He also claimed Charles “sounded giddily elated — like a lottery winner” following Diana’s death. Spencer offered his own interpretation of the alleged reaction, suggesting Charles may have been thinking about a future with Camilla, whom he married in 2005.
Buckingham Palace has publicly pushed back against Spencer’s account.
As Parade.com previously reported, the palace issued a rare statement addressing the claims.
“While we do not comment on books as a matter of principle, His Majesty is mindful that the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and colour memory in ways others do not recognise, even many years after such a loss,” the statement read.
Spencer, 62, stood by his account during his interview with Kuenssberg and insisted he was “telling the truth.”
“I can tell you here and now, those are exactly the words he said,” Spencer said. “I was hyper alert to what he was saying and those are precisely the words that he said and I promise that to you now. Genuinely, that is what he said. I don’t hear him saying he didn’t say that.”
Charles and Diana married in 1981 and separated in 1992. Their divorce was finalized in 1996, one year before Diana died.
“Swan Song: Diana, My Sister” will be released Tuesday, September 22, in the United States and United Kingdom.